SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/05/13 -- The Talent Board, a non-profit organization focused on the promotion and elevation of the candidate experience, today announced the release of its recent research, "Candidate Experience 2012." The white paper is based on data collected during the organization's second annual Candidate Experience Awards (known as "the CandEs") and provides insight into candidates' evolving expectations and employers' practices -- both exceptional and lacking -- during the recruiting, screening and hiring processes.

Now completing its second year, the CandEs has grown considerably since the inaugural contest in 2011, having drawn a larger number of participating organizations, candidates and sponsors and expanding to the U.K. While the 2011 CandEs attracted 57 companies and seven sponsors, the 2012 contest attracted 90 participating organizations and 18 sponsors. Additionally, the 2012 CandEs research was based on more than 17,500 candidate surveys, compared to 11,500 candidate surveys in 2011. The year-over-year results show that the candidate experience is valuable to both employers and candidates, and that employers are taking notice and working to improve the candidate experience they deliver to their candidates.

Some key findings of the research include:

More than half of candidates surveyed indicated a positive relationship with the company prior to applying, and those who perceive an existing relation with an employer were 20 percent more likely to be hired.

Candidates are strongly engaged through connections on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+ to advance their career search.

The theoretical 'black hole,' where no status or notification is ever given, seems to be a decreasing practice among firms that competed for the 2012 CandEs.

Two thirds of employers still hold back from surveying their candidates at recruiting steps prior to the final evaluation phase. These employers are missing out on a meaningful opportunity to better understand their processes and the impact that they have on the candidate experience.

More than half of candidates surveyed indicated they are 'likely' or 'very likely' to tell their inner circle of friends about their experiences, whether it is positive or negative.

A growing and significant number of respondents are willing to share their positive and negative experiences with a much wider audience through blogs, Facebook and other social platforms.

"The 2012 Candidate Experience Awards research shows that recruitment processes are undergoing an evolution, with more employers recognizing the need to improve how candidates are treated every step of the way," said Elaine Orler, chairman and co-founder of The Talent Board. "As candidates have more platforms than ever to voice their experiences, leading employers have taken a concerted effort to bring more transparency and active communication to their interactions with candidates."

She continued, "The Talent Board is very pleased with the strong growth of the CandEs and the increasing interest companies have shown in improving their candidate experience. We are proud to recognize the 90 organizations that participated in the 2012 benchmarking program and the 37 CandE Award winners for helping us elevate and advance the candidate experience. We are prepared for an even greater number of companies participating in the 2013 CandEs."

The CandE Awards program was established to evaluate the way in which employers and candidates engage during the recruiting process. Through three rounds of evaluation, the Talent Board collected data on how each participating company produces its candidate experience while enabling them to confidentially benchmark their hiring practices. Companies' reported data was evaluated against collected candidate survey feedback for an accurate review of candidate experience.

The "Candidate Experience 2012" white paper is co-authored by Orler, Gerry Crispin, principal and co-founder of CareerXroads, Joseph P. Murphy, vice president and co-founder of Shaker Consulting Group, Inc., and Ed Newman, vice president of strategy for iMomentous.

The 2013 Candidate Experience Awards will open this spring to all recruiting operations based in North America and the United Kingdom. Participation is confidential and free.

About The Talent BoardThe Talent Board is a non-profit organization focused on the elevation and promotion of a quality candidate experience. The organization, awards program and its sponsors are dedicated to recognizing the candidate experience offered by companies throughout the entire recruitment cycle and to forever changing the manner in which job candidates are treated. More information can be accessed at http://www.thecandidateexperienceawards.org

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